24: Live Another Day Confirmed, Kiefer Sutherland To Return As Jack Bauer

Say it with me 24 fans: "Damn it!" We may be hearing Jack Bauer cry out his favorite FCC-friendly swear-word of choice soon enough as the 24 comeback is officially a go. Fox announced today that Kiefer Sutherland is locked in to return to his role as Jack Bauer for 24: Live Another Day, an action-packed event series which is set to air next summer (2014).

This is kind of huge. Of course, when we heard last week that a 24 revival might happen, we were still waiting for confirmation that Sutherland would return to his role as Jack Bauer, counterterrorist agent extraordinaire, who was last seen shuffling off into the sunset, a broken and wanted man. 24 left our hero off in a bad place and there was hope that a feature film might revisit the life and work of the brave and noble Bauer, and hopefully give him a happier ending. As it happens, that follow-up is happening on the small screen, which is just fine with us. And as a bonus, showrunner Howard Gordon, who has been blowing our minds with Homeland on Showtime these days, is on board to bring Live Another Day to Fox next year.

The story will take place "several years following the events of the final season," and will consist of 12 episodes representing 24 hours. Fox also says the show will retain the real-time, pulse-pounding, fast-paced format. So, will each episode be two-hours then? Or will we only be seeing every other hour in this real-time set-up? I'm not entirely sure how that's going to work, but I expect we'll be getting more updates on what's planned for the series as next summer approaches. In the meantime, Gordon and Sutherland are on board. Now let's cross our fingers for confirmation that Mary Lynn Rajskub, because it's virtually impossible to think of Jack Bauer without his trusted Chloe.